Commercial kitchens such as those in restaurants often employ large “flat bottom” fryers for frying foods like battered fish. Flat bottom fryers usually have an angled frying surface, shallower near the front edge and deepening gradually toward the rear of the fryer, with a raised front edge to help contain the oil as it expands during heating. A batter-dipping pan is commonly kept near the fryer, holding for example several quarts or more of batter in which food is dipped before frying. A common type of batter-dipping pan comprises a fairly deep rectangular stainless steel pan with an out-turned flange or lip extending around the upper end of the pan, well known to those skilled in the art.
It is important to keep the batter-dipping pan close to the fryer in order to minimize drips and spills as the battered food is removed from the pan and transferred to the fryer. However, because the fryer contains a significant amount of hot oil, it is also important to keep the dipping pan stable and in a location where the person dipping the food in the batter is protected from splash and heat.
One prior device is a batter-dipping pan holder supported on the front edge of the fryer in cantilever fashion. The prior holder comprised a rectangular frame with a rectangular opening sized to receive the body of the batter dipping pan, the lip of the batter dip pan resting on the outer frame or edge of the holder. While this prior holder was an improvement over earlier arrangements, it suffers some drawbacks, including difficulty in removing the pan for refills and cleaning; a tendency to allow too much heat to be transferred from the oil in the fryer to the holder and pan; and, because the holder juts out in front of the fryer, interference with the cook's ability to easily access utensils stored at the sides of the fryer.